A Comprehensive Investigation of Hispanic Student Success in Gateway STEM Courses at Five State of Florida Institutions

National employment data forecasts a significant need for graduates in the STEM disciplines for middle-income American jobs. If the American labor force is to keep pace with the global economy, it is critically important that American higher education increase STEM degree production. Currently, minority populations lack access and thus opportunity for success in higher education, but, among them, Hispanic peoples account for about 59 million Americans, are the youngest demographic, and have the highest growth rate of any ethnic group. Hispanic students are inadequately represented in higher education enrollment numbers, graduation rates, graduate degree attainment, and STEM degree attainment. While only 14% of American institutions of higher education are designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), 64% of Hispanic American college students attend an HSI. As a result, HSIs are in a unique position to improve student success in STEM disciplines. A statistical analysis of the grades of Hispanic and White students in introductory STEM courses at three Florida HSI universities, University of Central Florida, Florida International University, and Florida Atlantic University, and two non-HSI universities, University of West Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University, revealed 1) White students significantly outperformed Hispanic students in CHM 2045 at UWF, FGCU, and UCF and 2) White students significantly outperformed Hispanic students in MAC 2311 at UWF and FGCU and 3) Hispanic students at the HSIs (FAU and FIU) earned significantly higher grades in CHM 2045 compared to the Hispanic students at non-HSIs (UWF and FGCU). All other comparisons revealed no statistically significant difference in mean course grades